So blessed to be stressed

This morning as I was getting ready for work and conducting my normal stalking observation of the latest news on FB, I misread a status that ended up completely inspiring me! How did this happen? Well my klutziness exceeds far past just the physical acts of tripping, spilling, getting my hair caught in sweaters (all the time), etc. There are many times where that endearing ;-) klutz side will affect how I interpret misinterpret things people tell me/read a message all together which may be entertaining for an observer but super embarrassing for myself.

Lucky for me (not so much for you), this story is not an embarrassing one but I am positive there will be many of those to come.

So this status I misread ended up being the very well known quote:

However when I read it my brain somehow interpreted it as “So blessed to be stressed”.

I was in awe of my friend’s perspective as I had never EVER thought to view stress in life as a blessing. But as I continued on my way to work, I started reflecting on the things that have stressed me out this week:

• The seemingly never-ending pile of cleaning that always has to be done. Dishes, laundry, vacuuming up endless amounts of dog hair from this creature: 

 It never ends!

• Homework for grad school that is already sucking the life out of me
• My full time job, my part time tutoring job. Why can’t I just go home after work and sit on the couch and watch trash tv… All. Night. Long.?
• Traffic. Traffic. Traffic.

Yes, this past week was probably a 3/4 on the stress scale of 1 – 10. Not such a bad week but there were definitely moments of unhappiness and anxiety as little “problems” threatened to ruin my day. But then I think….How blessed I am to be stressed.

• That never ending pile of cleaning that has to be done exists because we live in a gorgeous home that we never thought we would ever be able to purchase 2 years ago. Those dishes represent the groceries we are able to afford and the food that is keeping us alive. That husky fur that has become a part of our coffee, bedding, home decor? -- well that pup has her own miracle story and she brings us smiles daily!
• The homework for grad school that is keeping up until 1 am every night is something I should always be thankful for. I never believed I would be able to attend grad school, much less be 2 semesters away from graduation with a 4.0 GPA.  So thankful.
• My full time job is a job. Period. So many would do anything to be in my position but yet I view it as a burden. So blessed to be able to be stressed about a job at all.
• Oh and the trash tv part? Thank you God for creating humans that can develop such horrible television so that I can indulge for 2 hours a week in the latest crazies on the Bachelor.

• And traffic. Ugh now that can be a real stressor. But so blessed to be stressed in my dream car, with air conditioning and music that calms my soul causes me to dance like a maniac.

I pray that I can remember to keep this perspective during the days/experiences that are extremely stressful and difficult to see the silver lining. Every stress or obstacle in our life comes from a gift and I want to remember to always be thankful for those blessings.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7